Sophie Lloyd

Sophie Lloyd (born 22 October 1995) is a British guitarist.^[2][3] Since 2011, she has gained international recognition on YouTube as a rock and metal guitarist. She has been a guitarist in Machine Gun Kelly's touring band, which she joined in 2022. Her debut EP "Delusions" was released in 2018. Her debut solo album, Imposter Syndrome, was released in 2023.

Sophie Lloyd
Lloyd performing with Machine Gun Kelly in 2023
Background information
Born	(1995-10-22) 22 October 1995 (age 29) London, England
Genres	Alternative rock heavy metal hard rock pop-punk
Occupation	Guitarist
Member of	Machine Gun Kelly
Website	sophieguitar.com
YouTube information
Channel	Sophie Lloyd
Years active	2011–present
Genres	Music vlogs
Subscribers	1.16 million[1]
Creator Awards 100,000 subscribers 1,000,000 subscribers
Last updated: 6 July 2024

Early life

Sophie Lloyd was born in Oxford on 22 October 1995. She grew up in Henley-on-Thames.^[4] She first picked up guitar at the age of nine, after watching "Goofy Goober Rock", a modified cover version of Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock", in the 2004 film The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.^[5] Her early influences included metal bands Iron Maiden, Black Label Society and Pantera,^[6] as well as Joe Bonamassa and Halestorm.^[4] She graduated with first-class honours as a Bachelor of Music in Popular Music Performance from the BIMM Institute London in 2018, and is a professional composer.^[7][8][9]

Career

Sophie Lloyd performing in London with Marisa And The Moths in 2019

Sophie Lloyd started her YouTube channel in 2011, highlighting her instrumental cover versions, her own compositions, guitar equipment reviews, and her shredding and soloing techniques. Her YouTube channel gained international recognition, achieving 54 million views by December 2020.^[8] She joined Machine Gun Kelly's touring band in 2022, for his Mainstream Sellout Tour.^[10] She was voted Best Rock Guitarist of 2022 by the readership of MusicRadar.^[11][12] Her debut album, Imposter Syndrome, debuted at #3 on the UK Rock chart and #11 on the Indie chart in 2023. The album gained a nomination for Best Breakthrough Album at the 2024 Heavy Music Awards^[13] and was ranked as one of the best debut albums of 2023 by Classic Rock.^[14] The solo of "Do or Die" was voted by Guitar World readers as the 2nd best guitar solo of 2022.^[15] In June 2024, her debut solo headline show was first announced for Camden Assembly the following October^[16] and then upgraded to The Underworld, due to high demand.^[17][18] In September 2024, her US debut headline show was announced for the Whisky a Go Go in January 2025.^[19][20]

Equipment

Lloyd with her guitars in 2023

Sophie Lloyd is endorsed by Kiesel Guitars^[21][22] and Ernie Ball strings.^[9] She has also used EVH and Diezel guitar amplifiers and Boss effects pedals.^[23]

Discography

Albums

• SHRED Vol.1 (2023)
• Imposter Syndrome (2023)

EP

• Delusions (2018)

Singles

• "Bulletproof Revolver" (2019)
• "Do Or Die" (2022)
• "Fall Of Man" (2023)
• "Hanging On" (2023)